1972 240z ground up restoration

LittleredZ · April 12, 2015

So after selling my last sports car I decided I wanted to have a restoration project. I wanted something that could handle, cheapish to fix, light weight, two seats. I did all the back and forth in my head, mustang, camaro nah too many of those out there plus nothing against big muscle just not into those cars. German car? Maybe and old Porsche or old BMW, nope parts are hard to find and worth there weight in gold sometimes. After a few months of searching I found my Z actually it found me through a want ad I put out. A 1972 240z with 12xxx on the odometer, but let's be honest that's probably not correct most likely 112,xxx. But correct mileage is unknown.

Story of this car as far as I know is, car was purchased in 1975 by a man who owned a body shop and from what his family said he drove it up until 1980-1982 then parked it at his shop with plans to restore it. As the years came and went the car ended up in the corner of the shop, forgotten about and stuff piled all around it. The man passed away last year and the family decided to sell off the shop and everything in it. In the corner they found his forgotten about 1972 Datsun 240z. Can't wait to get this beauty back on the road and doing what she was meant to do...drive!

This is my 3rd Nissan other two being a 95 240sx and 04 350z both of which I modified some and raced on the weekends when I lived in Colorado. This will be my first 240Z and first restoration project. My goal is to do a full ground up restoration not sure if I will keep the origial L series motor family in it as that seems a few years away. My goal is to have her back on the road in 5 years. I work full time and have wife and kids to also take care off and I don't like rushing things. The car is missing a lot of parts but when purchasing this Z I also made a deal to get a donor car that as of now appears to have this I am missing.

Picked up the 1972 240Z yesterday. Part one of 1 million is done, get the car home. Next start taking the car apart to see what's underneath. How much rust there really is that I missed seeing when I first looked at it.

After checking it out I last night found the drivers side floor pan has been "repaired" with some welded in sheet metal and fiber glass. The rear 1/4 have been replaced with fiber glass panels. Under the car looks actually really good for being a Michigan car. Passenger side has a nasty dent in the floor pan which as of now not to sure if I can reshape it or just replace the pan. The car is currently red but was originally yellow. The motor turns over by hand and has a new fuel pump, but all fuel lines are torn and rotting so need to be replaced. The oil in it looks new so I removed the valve cover and found engine assembly grease on everything. So my plan this week is do a compression check, leak down and then see if I can get her running on her own power. Very good news is the dash is original and NOT cracked! Same with seats. Lots of trim pieces, badges and other things stuffed in boxes in the trunk.

I know I can search posts and find the answer to almost any questions I have during this project but I do value any input other members wish to provide from books, websites, videos and of course their own experiences. So feel free to lend out your knowledge as it will be greatly appreciated.

LittleredZ · May 2, 2015

Update: I picked up the donor 1973 240 Z this morning and looked it over in the garage. To my surprise the stamp on the block said F54. This makes me happy because I was debating going this route just saw that these blocks are hard to find. My first Z has a e88 head and from what I read this is a good combo to have. Also cranked over the original motor under its own power last week so that was nice to know it was seized.

Edited May 2, 2015 by LittleredZ

Miles · May 2, 2015

Suggestions:

If doing a V8 swap buy the Jags that Run (JTR) book and read it at least 5 times.
Download a Factory Service Manual (FSM) and buy a Haynes repair manual for your specific car.
Download electrical schematics for your car. PDFs are easier to read than those found in books.
Buy the book How to Restore Your Datsun Z Car by Wick Humble. It will save you hours of searching.
Focus on searching Hybridz as 99% of questions have already been addressed.
Make a detailed plan with parts list including cost.
Start bookmarking Z car parts suppliers - there are many!
Remember these are 40 year old cars and will need restoration to be safe and drivable.
Join ClassicZCars.com website and search there as well.
Become well informed about modifications before asking questions. People will be more inclined to answer informed questions.
Have some money. I stopped counting after $12k.
Read all of the new member FAQs.